1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to an exhaust pipe protecting tip and a plasma display module including the exhaust pipe protecting tip, and more particularly, to an exhaust pipe protecting tip, which can protect the exhaust pipe and improves an ease of fabrication of the exhaust pipe protecting tip through separate fabrication of the exhaust pipe protecting tip having a guide and attaching the exhaust pipe protecting tip to an ear portion of a chassis, and a plasma display module including the exhaust pipe protecting tip.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plasma display panels (PDPs) that have begun to replace conventional cathode ray tubes (CRTs) are apparatuses for displaying images. In a plasma display panel, a discharge gas is sealed between two substrates having a plurality of electrodes, the discharge gas being supplied to generate ultraviolet rays, and phosphor layers formed in a predetermined pattern are excited by the ultraviolet rays to emit visible rays, and thus, an image is obtained.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ear portion of a chassis 10, on which an exhaust pipe protecting tip is installed, used in a conventional plasma display module.
Referring to FIG. 1, the chassis 10 supporting a plasma display panel and a circuit board is rectangular in shape, and includes a chassis base 11, a first bending portion 12, a second bending portion 13, and an ear portion 14.
The ear portion 14 is formed at a corner of the chassis 10, and bosses 15 are formed on the ear portion 14 for fixing the chassis 10 onto a case (not shown).
Since the ear portion 14 extends from the chassis base 11 and there is no supporting unit for supporting the ear portion 14, a reinforcing material 20 is mounted on the ear portion 14 for reinforcing the ear portion 14.
In general, an exhaust pipe protecting tip 16 for protecting an exhaust pipe formed on a rear surface of the plasma display panel is formed on the ear portion 14, and the exhaust pipe protecting tip 16 is tube-shaped.
However, in the conventional structure illustrated in FIG. 1 for protecting the exhaust pipe, the exhaust pipe protecting tip 16 is forcibly inserted into the ear portion 14 of the chassis 10, but may be out of tolerance. First, a hole is formed in the ear portion 14 and the ear portion 14 is prepared for dying using a jig. Next, the exhaust pipe protecting tip 16 is placed into a hole of the ear portion 14, and a force is applied to the exhaust pipe protecting tip 16. In addition to the need for these operations, when assembling the plasma display module, the exhaust pipe protecting tip 16 may collide with the exhaust pipe, and the exhaust pipe may be damaged.
In addition, in order to perform the insertion process for forming the structure of the exhaust pipe protecting tip 16, the number of processes increases and fabrication costs rise. In addition, a predetermined space is required in order to perform the insertion process, and accordingly, the width of the ear portion 14 should be enlarged.